World-renowned pianist Menahem Pressler takes centre stage at the Don Wright Faculty of Music’s Parsons & Poole Concert and Masterclass series as both a performer and teacher this weekend at Western. Audiences have the opportunity to watch him work in both roles.
Pressler, founding member and pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, has established himself among the world’s most distinguished musicians, with a career spanning almost six decades. Now 89, the man the New York Times called “a poet, time and again revealing unexpected depths in works that have been endlessly plumbed” continues to captivate audiences throughout the world by performing solo and chamber music recitals to great critical acclaim.
On Friday, his performance will include three works of the masters – Mozart’s Rondo in A minor, Beethoven’s Sonata in A major, Op. 110 and Schubert’s Sonata in B flat major. The works are all from the late periods of the composers’ lives.
“These are three of the deepest and most profound works in the repertoire played by one of the greatest living artists,” said Leslie Kinton, piano professor at Western.
The performance is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday in the Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot College. Tickets are $25/$15 and available in advance through the Grand Theatre’s box office.
On Saturday, Pressler will conduct a masterclass with three students (an undergraduate, masters student and doctoral candidate), who will perform for Pressler before he provides feedback on their technique, style and interpretation. Not only an exciting chance for these young musicians to benefit from Pressler, the event offers audiences an opportunity to gain insight into the compositions, composers and the art of transforming a written work into a live performance.
The masterclass is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot College. Admission is free.
Pressler’s visit to Western is made possible through the Parsons & Poole Concert and Masterclass series. This series was established by a group of alumnae to honour their piano teachers, Clifford Poole and Margaret Parsons, a husband-and-wife piano duo.